The modern Western anthem of expressive individualism could be summed up in the words, “I am who I am.” To be an individual, and to express your individuality, is to be self-determining, and as far as possible, independent.
The scary thing is, or should be, that this motto is how God is described in Ex. 3:14.
The overlap between how people think of themselves in the West, and between the self-disclosure of God’s name is not accidental. More and more peoplein their hearts and minds put themselves in the place of God — considering themselves as radically independent and unreliant upon others and as able to ‘create themselves’, to determine their identity. These characteristics are what’s behind the self-disclosure of God’s name as the great “I AM.” He is ultimately independent and ultimately unreliant on anyone or anything. The uncreated one but the creator of all things. He is the fire in the bush that burns by itself and is not dependent on the bush (Ex. 3:2).
The danger for people who start to drift in this way of thinking is basically a kind of delusion. It simply is not reality. And when things don’t conform to reality stuff gets weird (you don’t want things to get weird do you?). We are always dependent; on God, family, on community. And there is an exchange when it comes to expression. We might call this expression ‘culture’. You contribute to the culture (a little) but so does everyone else, and in turn you are shaped by culture (probably a lot). Ironically, when everyone talks about individualism, they are of course profoundly shaped by a whole culture of people who call for the supremacy of individual expression. Point being, we are blind to our interdependence sometimes.
But that’s not the real problem. The real problem with this delusion is the offense toward the creator. We do not create ourselves. We do not birth ourselves. Which is obvious. But convenient to leave out of this argument of self-expression. As much as we belong to one another (to family and then lesser to our communities), we belong more so to God. In an attempt to break off the shackles of some perceived slavery (again on theme for the Exodus narrative) to those around us, we break away from our own lifelines. Preeminent being God the source of Life.
What happens in the narrative of Exodus? War. War between God and the idols and false supremacy of Pharaoh. Who wins? God. What will happen to those today who propose to contest the Lord in the same way? War. Maybe there is a reason everyone in the secular world feels like their peaceful lives are always at war… And maybe it’s the reason you feel at war within yourself. Even as a Christian. The presence of this kind of sinful tendency is simply the air we breath and will be a temptation for some.
When we imagine we are burning bushes — self-creating and self-sustaining — there should be no surprise when we eventually burn out.
Bigvai and Shiphrah 